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Saturday, August 31, 2013

8 Ways Phyllis Schlafly And The GOP Justify Voter Suppression

Greg Miller's piece, "Eight Ways Phyllis Schlafly And The GOP Justify Voter Suppression," scores another analytical hit at Addictinginfo.org. For those who have wondered whether Schlafly was still alive, it takes more than a history of hate and idiocy to keep the Conservative anti-ERA, anti-feminist, anti-female Conservative propagandist from leaving the Conservative tent while still existing on a diet of hate and lies:

"In a column published by WND titled “North Carolina Embraces Honest Elections” by Phyllis Schlafly, the Conservative strategy of suppressing the vote comes clearly into focus. I quote Ms. Schlafly here for two reasons: 1) You need to know what is happening behind closed doors; and 2) So you don’t have to click on the article and unintentionally support this agenda which, if you were unaware, is exactly what happens.

"1. Voter ID laws help Republicans, so we need more of them

"To begin her article Phyllis Schlafly writes,

“North Carolina is showing the way for conservatives to rise above their post-2012 depression and regain the political initiative. Gov. Pat McCrory just signed a law requiring voters to show a valid photo ID for voting, prohibiting same-day registration and reducing the number of days for early voting from 17 to 10.”

"2. Voter ID Laws are “common-sense” … at least for people who have photo ID

"Phyllis Schlafly continued:

"This common-sense voter ID law, which passed the North Carolina Legislature with more than two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate, is very popular. A Washington Post poll found that 74 percent of Americans believe that people should have to show photo identification to vote.”

"And regarding voter ID, she’s right. Polls clearly show that three-fourths of Americans support showing identification to cast your ballot. Many of you, myself included, think this a fairly common sense approach that has merit and is worthy of debate. Ah, but here’s where it gets tricky. The new North Carolina law also eliminates straight-party voting and reduces the number of days early voting is available by a full seven days. Cutting the number from 17 days to 10.

"3. Early voting helped Barack Obama win, and that’s why we should stop it

Two peas in a pod, two nuts in a sack.

"Phyllis Schlafly states quite plainly,

“The reduction in the number of days allowed for early voting is particularly important because early voting plays a major role in Obama’s ground game. The Democrats carried most states that allow many days of early voting, and Obama’s national field director admitted, shortly before last year’s election, that ‘early voting is giving us a solid lead in the battleground states that will decide this election.’”

"4. It’s okay for North Carolina to cancel early voting, because ‘some states don’t allow it at all’

"And therein lies the twist. Rather than embrace the equal rights of all to vote and campaign candidates on issue positions she and her conservative counterparts would rather make things more difficult for you and suppress your vote. Because they want it their way whether you like it or not and if you don’t play the game the way they want it played well, they’ll just change the rules on you. Not only does Ms. Schlafly make this painfully obvious but it almost seems that she in her aged condition may have let the cat out of the bag with that admission.

“Early voting is a matter of state law, and some states don’t allow it at all.”

"More than 80% of the states have provisions to allow for early voting which is greater common sense than even the numbers on voter ID opinion. Schlafly supports voter ID when it helps the conservative cause but against early voting because it goes against that cause and the statistical numbers really become arbitrary. Just like Ronald Reagan misspoke, ”Facts are stupid things.”

"5. Making it easier for people to vote is ‘contrary to the spirit of the U.S. Constitution’ (!)

"But we’re not done yet kids, Phyllis Schlafly goes on to say,

“Early voting is actually contrary to the spirit of the U.S. Constitution. Article II states, ‘the Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes, which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.’ Federal law sets the date for national elections on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.”

"Or, as I like to call it, the first Tuesday in November. And while this may be nit-picking I believe this simply demonstrates the way that conservatives twist language and context to manipulate. But I digress.

"Early voting is not contrary to the spirit of the Constitution. Quite the opposite. It allows for the fast paced global occupying American the ability to make their voice heard while still keeping pace with today’s global demands. By Schlafly’s implied standard, all votes come on the Tuesday following the first Monday and that’s it. Nothing else counts. But she isn’t for voter suppression? Follow a hard fast rule written 237 years ago with no room for developmental advancement? Seems just a bit extreme doesn’t it?

"6. Early voting increases ballot fraud. Really, it’s true

“Early voting increases the influence of big money spent on campaigns because it requires candidates to campaign, to spend and to buy expensive television ads over additional weeks. Early voting increases opportunities for ballot fraud because the necessary poll watchers we expect to be on the job at polling places on Election Day can’t be present for so many days.”

"Ah, I see. Well here’s a thought. Remove big money corporate interests from our political process and you won’t have to worry about such trivial matters. The super-rich can continue to hoard every dollar as they see fit. I mean, they did earn it. And early voting doesn’t necessarily happen at normal polling places but rather governmental offices prior to Election Day. So it doesn’t increase opportunities for ballot fraud. Why is ballot fraud such a concern of the conservatives anyway? I’ll let Gen. Colin Powell, former Sec. of State and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs handle this one, who said in direct opposition to Gov. McCrory’s allegations of widespread and undetected voter fraud,

“I want to see policies that encourage every American to vote, not make it more difficult to vote. It [the new NC voting law] immediately turns off a voting block the Republican Party needs,” Powell continued. “These kinds of actions do not build on the base. It just turns people away. You can say what you like, but there is no voter fraud,” Powell said. “How can it be widespread and undetected?”

"7. ‘Illegal votes’ are cancelling out legal ones!

But Phyllis Schlafly continues,

“Encouraging people to close their minds and cast an irrevocable ballot before all the presidential debates are held is as harmful to a fair outcome as it would be to allow jurors to vote guilty or not guilty before they hear all the evidence in a trial. Hillary Clinton called the North Carolina law’s provisions ‘the greatest hits of voter suppression,’ but the real “hits” are the way illegal votes cancel out the votes of honest Americans.”

"Now we should sequester ourselves and reserve judgment on the accused until all the debates are done? Because, a decision based on facts obtained regarding issues you care about individually is closing your mind. Really? The same as jury duty? Now there’s a bright happy face painted on the civic responsibility of being an informed and active voter. Hey! No worries Phyllis. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus is seeing fit to limit the number of debates, how they are structured and limit the number of people watching. So we’re good now, right?

"8. College kids don’t need to vote, they need to learn to write in cursive

"The greatest hits of voter suppression are not fabricated illegal votes cancelling out valid ones. They are the restrictions imposed by limiting the number of people who can vote through ID laws and restricting the time allotted for those citizens to cast their ballots. Because what wasn’t covered by Ms. Schlafly is that college students will not be able to use their college ID as proof of self or residence in NC and Republican county officials are removing the on-campus polling places, making it inherently more difficult for younger voters to exercise their rights. We all know younger voters tend to vote more with progressive ideals rather than stodgy traditional status quo. I wouldn’t expect an 89-year-old woman who supported and authored context against Equal Rights to have the pulse of college students in the 21st century. As proof of that Schlafly closes with,

“In addition to the helpful new voting laws, North Carolina passed stricter regulations on abortion clinics, ended teacher tenure, cut unemployment benefits, blocked the expansion of Medicaid and (despite the scorn of propagandists for the national takeover of education by Common Core) mandated the teaching of cursive writing. Maybe that’s why the liberals are so angry: Kids will now be able to read letters from their grandmothers.”

"Yep. That’s why I’m angry. Not because of the 'helpful new voting laws.' Not because of the stricter regulations on reproductive rights and the inability to get quality medical care. Not because I can’t get a job at all, much less one that provides a living wage. Not for restricting healthcare provisions during the dawning of universal healthcare or access to quality educators. Nope. I’m pissed because I can’t read my grandmothers obsolete way of communicating even though she didn’t bother to try to keep up with the world’s technological and social evolutions as they happened around her. Better check your own pulse, Phyllis Schlafly. It seems shallow and slow."

*****
The 89-year old witch had disappeared from the national scene awhile ago, only to reappear with the birth of the creation of the Tea Bagger movement as just another inmate allowed to run loose in the Conservative asylum.

Our site has been up for a little over a year, and a few things have changed: accelerated voter suppression laws in the Red States, and the obstruction and refusal to compromise by the Tea Baggers in Congress.

The noxious changes in our political atmosphere have added to the reasons to criminalize Conservatism, not reduce them, and we can state our position thus:

1. The Conservative criminal cabal continues to suppress the vote because they say that the Democrats are socialists/communists/fascists.

This is patently false.

Therefore, as this is obviously a conspiracy to steal the votes of the People, the Conservative crime-ridden conspiracy has once again shown us that Conservatism must be criminalized.

2. The Conservatives are obstructing all (!) legislation in Congress and are refusing to compromise or cooperate with the Democratic side because they say that the Democrats are socialists/communists/fascists.

This is patently false.

Therefore, as this is obviously a conspiracy to refuse to initiate or approve any legislation on the behalf of the People, the Conservative crime-ridden conspiracy has once again shown us that Conservatism must be criminalized.

QED: Criminalize Conservatism!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do.

When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will